Unexpected Family
by SailorSun09
Summary: Set after the seven years arc. It doesn't pertain to any arc in particular. A new dark guild called Crimson is on the rise. After one defeat, they just don't know when to give up the fight. Tables will be turned when least expected and through all the chaos, romance and relationships will blossom. NaLu will eventually happen. Maybe changing to M for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hello everyone! This is my first time writing anything to do with Fairy Tail. I recently fell in love with this Anime and wanted to give it a shot. I know there are major mistakes but I am writing everything on my phone so please to try overlook some things. I'm still getting used to this anime and I might get some things wrong so please if I make a mistake, correct me so I can make sure it does not happen again. Of course I do not own anything pertaining to fairy tail. All rights belong to Hiro Mashima This is just a little story that popped into my head. I'm not sure where it is going yet but it'll get there and I hope you choose to stick out the journey with me.

It feels so good to be home. Lucy thought to herself as she walked into her living room. She immediately went into the kitchen and started unloading her newly purchased groceries. Natsu and Lucy had just gotten back to Magnolia after a month long mission. Lochfair was a city about four hours away from Magnolia and it was very wealthy. When they had originally taken the job, they thought it would be a piece of cake with the entire team but Erza and Gray already had prior obligations so it was just Natsu, Happy, and Lucy going to Lochfair. Little did they know that when they returned home it would be a group of four instead of just three.

Flashback:

The mission was simple, stop a group of thieves that were running amuck in the city and causing mayhem. The task of capturing the thieves and finding stolen property didn't seem hard at all, especially given Natsu's heightened sense of smell. The first two weeks of the mission were uncharacteristically rough for the trio. It turned out that the crime group were also a "wannabe" dark guild called Crimson. The mages in Crimson were mere armatures but they still gave it their all for their so called cause. Defeating them should have been a breeze but they had one particular mage that made it rather difficult. Every time that Natsu would catch a guild member's scent they would follow it and ultimately come up with nothing. Ceclya Hino was the only decent mage in the entire guild. It didn't take them long to figure out why Natsu could not track the guild; Ceclya was using a type of runes to camouflage the entire guild. It was a brilliant idea to use runes in such a way.

Natsu and Lucy were eating breakfast at a small table at the inn where they lodged.

"If we don't find them this time, I don't what know what we should do. Their crimes are getting more severe each day but Ceclya is making it impossible to find them after the damage is done." Lucy looked down at her food and started picking at it.

"It'll be okay Luce, we'll find them; we can't just leave without completing the mission. Think about how bad it will make Fairy Tail look if we walk away, besides we've been here for almost a month and we won't have time for another job to pay for your rent in time." Natsu always had a way of putting things into perspective for Lucy even if he didn't realize it. He looked up at her and gave her one of his signature grins for reassurance.

"Since you put it that way, I'm all fired up."

"Hey, that's my line."

Right when they were about to leave the little blue Exceed came flying to their table.

"Natsu! Natsu, I have a question for you; what does Ceclya look like?" Happy was out of breath and talking so fast that Natsu could barely understand him.

"Oi! Happy calm down and let me think," Natsu looked up to his little Exceed with a worry filled expression. I wonder what's gotten into to him.

"Natsu what does she look like?" Happy still hadn't calmed down and he was beginning to flutter around the table.

"I don't remember, Happy." Natsu honesty could not remember what the girl looked like no matter how hard he racked his brain.

Finally Lucy decided to speak up; she was getting tired of listening to them. "She has long teal hair and blue eyes; the last time we saw her she was wearing a purple dress with cut outs around the stomach and down her back," she stated factually. "Why do you ask, Happy," She quizzically asked.

"She bought me a fish and I saw her guild mark. She is actually really nice; she doesn't seem evil at all. I was surprised that she was a part of Crimson."

"Where is she now?" Something didn't seem right to Lucy; something made her feel like they were going to walk into a trap.

"She was still in the market when I left to come and find you all." Happy had finally calmed down enough.

"Hell, what are we still waiting for then? Let's go see if we can find her and see what her deal is." Natsu grabbed ahold of Lucy's arm and started running towards the door.

"AYE! Wait for me." Happy yelled as he started flying to catch up with their retreating figures.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N**_**: Hello everyone! I hope that people start reading this fic because I'm slowly getting a good beginning plot. I'm not certain how much action this will have so it might take a few turns and be a mix of multiple things. Once again, as you all know, I do not own anything regarding Fairy Tail. All rights belong to Hiro Mashima. Rate and Review if you liked it. I'm going to start on the next chapter as soon as I can. Once again, I am new to this anime so if you see any mistakes, please correct me so it will not happen again. There are quite a few errors pertaining grammar and some frequent comma splices but I'm so busy with school and finals that I don't have time to sit down and properly edit so please overlook common grammar mistakes. **

When they reached the market, they immediately started searching for Ceclya. Since Lochfair was rather large the group decided to split up. Happy and Lucy started checking stores while Natsu searched around the outskirts near the food vendors. Natsu caught her scent a few times but it vanished right when it hit his senses. After searching for decent amount of time he decided to find Lucy and Happy. Even in a crowd of thousands of people, Natsu would always be able to find her. It wasn't hard for Natsu to catch Lucy's scent, warm vanilla filled his senses and he immediately felt like he was back home but something about it seemed off kilter. After cutting through a few alleyways he found Lucy and Happy walking into an antique shop. _Even when we are on a job, she still thinks about keys. Typical Lucy_. Natsu chuckled at his thought and then entered the shop to find his partner

"Oi! Lucy, have you all had any luck yet?" He saw the blonde and walked up to her but he didn't get the welcomed reaction that he expected. Lucy turned her head around to look at him from across her shoulder; what should have been a cheerful expression was one of utter shock. He peered around where Lucy was standing to and saw Ceclya passed out on the floor with Happy hovering above her.

"It- it was all a game Natsu," Lucy stuttered to her partner "this whole mission was just her little game."

"What do you mean it was all just a game?" Natsu was having a hard time understanding what Lucy was saying. She looked faint and sweat clung to her forehead. Lucy winced before falling to her side; she would have hit the floor hard if not for Natsu's quick reflexes. When he caught her he felt something we run down his hand and forearm, Lucy had a massive laceration across her stomach and then another one down her leg. Panic and worry spread within Natsu and he felt his stomach turn to knots. "Luce, can you hear me, Lucy!" His panic was slowly turned into a seething rage that consumed him from the insides. He was determined to make someone pay for what they did to her. He could feel his body getting hotter and hotter, matching the fire he felt within. If he couldn't get his anger under control, he would engulf Lucy in flames. He felt more blood trickle down his arm and it shocked him out of his rage induced trance.

"Happy, grab the girl and let's go. Be quick," Natsu barked at Happy. His words came out harsher than he had intended. Natsu took off towards the Inn and Happy followed with Ceclya.

Once in Lucy's room at the inn Natsu started cleaning her wounds and bandaging them. He wished Wendy was there more than anything but he was determined to do the best he could. He kept pressing a cold, damp cloth to her forehead to wipe away her sweat. After an hour or so she started to toss and moan. When her cries of discomfort grew louder Virgo appeared from her gate.

"What happened to the Princess?" Virgo asked immediately started redressing Lucy's wounds.

"I don't know exactly. We were searching for Ceclya and I didn't have any luck so I went to find Lucy and Happy and then Lucy passed out from her injuries." Natsu's breath was shallow and each intake of air he took felt like hot coals were being shoveled down into his lungs. Normally anything on fire wouldn't hurt him but this felt like a different kind of burning, a burning that he had never experienced before.

"Princess will be fine but she needs lots of rest. I will come check on her in a few hours; she should sleep peacefully until then. I have taken the liberty of looking at the other girl; she has minor lacerations that seem to be from Princesses whip and a head injury but she should come to in an hour or so." After Virgo had said what she wanted she returned to her gate leaving a small cloud of smoke in her absence.

"Happy, you need to tell me everything that happened. Who did this to Lucy?" Just the thought of Lucy's pain made Natsu tense; he hated seeing his partner in such a vulnerable state.

Happy walked over and sat on ground in front of Natsu, "we hadn't found Ceclya yet so we decided to take a quick break. Lucy spotted an antique store and wanted to see if they had any keys; she spotted a display case in the back and when we walked towards it we spotted Ceclya looking at a glass vase." The blue cat was now pacing as he recalled the events. "Lucy confronted Ceclya and I expected that there would be a fight but it was the exact opposite. Ceclya greeted us kindly and then began telling us how she was glad we took her job request.."

"Wait a second," Natsu interrupted, "so Ceclya was the one who made the request to stop Crimson?"

"Aye, she told us how she wanted to join a guild but it would have to be the correct one. She explained that she had joined Crimson as a cover and whichever guild accepted and beat her would be the one she joined."

"She's crazy, only an insane person would do something like that." Natsu couldn't comprehend why she didn't just go and visit guilds to see which one she liked best.

Before Happy could reply a new voice entered the conversation, "my plan might have been a tad bit crazy but I assure you I am a perfectly sane individual. Happy, if you don't mind I'll take over from here."

Happy motioned for her to continue meanwhile anger painted its way onto Natsu's face. "I can see why you are angry, Salamander, but I assure you Lucy will be fine."

A calming sensation ran through him and his anger seemed to somewhat die down. "Fine but get on with the story because my patience is growing thin."

"Lucy confronted me and I assured her that I wanted no violence. I explained to her that I merely joined Crimson to find a guild that could live up to my expectations. I have been using my magic to conceal the guild making it harder to complete the mission. My initial goal was to separate myself from Crimson when I deemed you all worthy but since I made it too difficult to track their whereabouts, I decided to leave and watch you all from a distance. The only problem with leaving the guild was that they decided that I was too big of a threat to not have as an ally. When things got heated, I contained them in runes for a short time and made my escape," Ceclya took a short pause before she continued her lengthy explanation. "I am now using my magic to conceal my identity, only Lucy, Happy, and yourself can see who I really am. Lucy and I were talking and then Garren, the leader of Crimson, leaped forward as us with a knife in hand. Lucy grabbed her whip and jerked me out of the way but I collided with her; the force sent her spiraling towards him and ultimately claiming her as his victim. I feel to the ground and hit my head on the corner of the display case. The next thing I know I am waking up here and talking to you all. I don't know how he caught onto my disguise, to everyone else I look like a middle aged woman. "

"Happy, where were you when all this was going on?" Something wasn't adding up and Natsu wanted to know what it was.

"I was looking at fish figurines across the store. I'm sorry Natsu it happened so quickly that by the time I got over there Lucy was covered in blood and yelling at me to check on Ceclya," the Exceed held his head down with shame.

"Don't worry Happy it wasn't your fault," Natsu gave Happy a grin and Happy perked up.

"Aye! I'll try not to feel bad" He perked up once he realized that Natsu wasn't mad at him.

"Where is Crimson's location?" Natsu never planned out what he should do; he always charged head first into a fight and that was exactly what he planned to do with this guild.

"On the west side of town you will find a bridge that leads out to a large forest and about a mile after the bridge there will be a one person path on the right. Follow the path even though it looks like it won't lead anywhere but soon enough you will see a battered sign and then the guild. I will warn you now that they are stronger than meets the eye so beware."

"Happy, look after Lucy and keep an eye on Ceclya. Virgo should pop in soon and redress Lucy's wounds."

"Aye, sir."

"I'll be back later." A devilish grin crept to his face as he charged out the door. He was itching for a fight and he would have revenge for Lucy.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello everyone! This chapter starts to lay the foundation for the story. I hope you all enjoy reading it. I would love for you all to read and review. Constructive criticism. Once again, I just want to mention that I'm still new to this anime so please correct me if I get anything wrong. Also, I have no edited this thoroughly so there will be common spelling and grammar mistakes. I think that I am going to wait until the story is completely finished before I make major mechanical revisions. I own and claim nothing of Fairy Tail. **

Natsu rushed through town to the bridge and the he found the path that lead to the guild. _Well this is different than I thought it would be. _Natsu thought that it would be a shack of some sort or a rundown building but he was wrong. He stood before a three story stone castle like structure. There were iron bars over the window and a large wooden door that was painted red. The entire property was shaded with trees so everything was covered in darkness even when the sun was at the high point in the day.

A shadow crept up from behind Natsu. A figure emerged from the shadow trying to catch Natsu off guard but it did not work. Natsu's dark eyes followed the figure to the red door of the guild where it made its' presence known.

"Ahh, Salamander, I have been expecting you but I didn't think it would be this soon. I must say, you look a little agitated. Does it bother you that I harmed your precious Lucy?"

Heat. Fire. Passion. Natsu began to see red and his vision blurred with rage. It was like he was in the same trace as he was at the antique shop but intensified.

"I see I have struck a nerve with you. I can see why you fancy her so much boy; she is quite a catch. It was almost a shame to mark up her soft, porcelain skin. After we defeat you I might go check on how she is doing. You will always have to live with the guilt that I, Garren Master of Crimson, hurt the person you hold most dear as well as crushed your pride."

"You don't have a clue do you, Garren?" Natsu spit his words at the so called master who wasn't even worth his breath. "Lucy is my best friend and partner but nothing more. You are right about the fact that you've struck a nerve but it would be the same for any member of my Guild." Natsu could feel fire trying to escape from every pore of his body; it was screaming to be released and cause mayhem. Normally, he had outstanding self-control but something was different in the core of his being now; it was almost as if someone had taken down a dam and a river was free to flow wherever it pleased.

"I won't make you battle with my guild. They are quite a pathetic lot when it comes down to it and I'm only using them for my bidding. I'll make you an offer, if you can engage in battle with me long enough, I might take pity on you and let you join us." Laughter emerged from the Garren as he walked out of the comfort of the shadows. He was not pleasant to the eye; his hair long was long and tied so it fell down his back, his skin was pale like it lacked contact with the suns bright rays, and his body was lean like it had missed its fair share of meals.

Natsu was tired of listening to Garren talk so he decided to put an end to his opponent's speech. He charged with fists blazing at his foe but the attack was dodged. Garren seeped into the shadows that covered the ground but Natsu was smarter than he looked. He knew exactly where Garren would try to attack from but he wouldn't let it happen. Natsu stood perfectly still with his eyes closed and honed in on Garrens scent; the "Master" was three paces to Natsu's left but he had cast a shadow on Natsu's right.

Natsu started to run to his right giving the allusion that he was falling into the trap; he knew the moment Garren moved was his only chance to strike so he kept running right until he smelt his opponent coming towards him. He waited until the very last second possible before he took a sharp turn and caught his opponent off guard. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist," yelled Natsu as he hit Garren with such a force that it sent him flying into one of the guild's stone walls. In reaction to the impact, members of the guild started running out of the building towards Natsu.

"_So that was their plan all along." _"Fire Dragon's Roar," he quickly gathered fire into his lungs and blasted a massive attack towards the advancing foes. They were all in a small distance of each other so the attacked affected all of the charging members. Only a single man was left standing and he prepared to strike at the dragon slayer. He was a stocky man with large muscles and a bald head; he looked like a sailor that had endued many voyages. "You're goin' down, boy," he yelled.

"Like hell I am," Natsu could feel the power within growing too large to control. He had never let his willpower or self-control slip this much but the thought that none of these scumbags would never be able to harm Lucy fueled his flame. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn," Natsu's body was engulfed in flame and he ran head first at the muscled man. Natsu hit the enemy head on before he could even strike back. The sailor was sent flying backwards to where his master was located. Natsu walked over to where Garren landed, "If I hadn't lost my temper we could have had a decent fight but that wasn't the case this time. Now, are there any more people inside that building?"

"Yes, why," Garren weakly answered the question.

"I was going to burn it to the ground but I refuse to have blood on my hands. Never think harming another member of Fairy Tail again or there will be hell to pay. This guild is to disband at once if you know what's best for you," Natsu addressed Garren through gritted teeth and his distaste for the man was evident.

Natsu turned around and started heading back down the trail.

"This isn't the last you will see me, dragon slayer," Garren yelled at his rivals retreating figure as he lay motionless on the ground.

"Fine, have it your way; I kick your ass again next time," Natsu yelled back as he kept walking towards town. He wanted to get to Lucy as quickly as possible but he knew he needed to defuse his emotions so he decided to take his time.

Meanwhile at the Inn…

"Lucy, I see you have finally awoken. How do you feel?" Cecyla sat on the edge of the bed where Lucy was resting.

"I feel horrible. Pain, there is so much pain. What happened?" Lucy looked like a hurt and frightened animal; her eyes were wide and full of tears.

"Tell me what the last thing you remember is and I'll fill you in from there." Cecyla's tone was compassionate and it sounded like she was talking to a lifelong friend.

"We were talking at the display case and then around the corner from where we were standing I saw a man appear and then he tried to attack you with a knife." Lucy was definitely dazed and thinking made her head hurt even worse than it already was. She tried to sit up but she winced in pain even though she had barely moved an inch.

Virgo immediately appeared from her gate, "Hello princess, time for punishment? I'm sorry I wasn't back to check on you sooner."

"No punishment but could you check my stomach?" Lucy looked down at her belly expecting to see lots of blood but there wasn't much as expected. Virgo went to tending her princess while Cecyla filled in the cracks of Lucy's memory. Once Virgo returned to her gate the girls carried on with a nice conversation until Lucy felt like something was right. "Where is Natsu and Happy?"

"Happy went to the market for fish a few minutes before you woke up and Natsu went to avenge your injuries and destroy Crimson. He was quite furious and very determined when he left. I've watched you all since you arrived and I had never seen him so angered. It's quite obvious how deeply he cares for you."

Lucy stared at the teal haired woman that sat beside her, "Why didn't he wait until I could go with him? I'm sure he will manage to defeat them but he could have waited and of course he has feelings for me, as I do for him; we're best friends and like siblings."

"My dear, he didn't wait for you because he needed to make his claim of you known; he's a dragon slayer and they are protective of what is theirs. You can see it clearly in his eyes that he loves you more beyond normal comradeship."

"We're only friends, I assure you. Mirajane is always trying to push us together but people will have to accept the fact that we only have a close friendship." Lucy was starting to get aggravated at the topic of her relationship with Natsu; it seemed like no one would believe that they were just nakama.

"Deny it all you want but sooner or later you all will realize what is actually there." Cecyla stopped pressing the matter any further.

"I'm back guys," Happy announced as he flew in through the window that Cecyla had left open. "How are you feeling Lucy?"

"I'm slowly feeling better, thank you. Did you run into Natsu anywhere?" Lucy was starting to grow fearful that Natsu had bit off more than he could chew.

"No, I didn't see him but I'm sure he'll be back soon; we was fired up when he left." Happy flew over to the bed and curled up beside Lucy.

A few minutes later Natsu walked in the door; he was covered in bumps and bruises but it he didn't look like he had just defeated a guild.

"Hey Luce, how ya feelin'?" He walked over toward her and extended his arm as if to touch her but then he hesitated.

"I'm feeling a lot better than I was earlier; Virgo dropped in again." Lucy could tell something was weird with him but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Well I'm glad you're feeling better now. As soon as you are able to travel we can go home."

"What happened Natsu?" On most occasions he wouldn't shut up about his most recent victory for days but this time he remained quiet.

"There isn't anything to talk about. He paid for what he did. They won't be bothering anyone else any time soon." Natsu shuffled uncomfortably as he talked about the fight. He kept replaying what Garren said about Lucy; no one would ever talk about her that way again, he would make sure of it.

"Earth Land to Natsu, what are you thinking about? You look like something is bothering you." The wounded blond was starting to worry even more about her best friend.

"I'm fine."

"I'm glad that you were able to defeat them so easily; most of them don't even bother to use their magic but they are very determined when they do. The only major threats they have are Angelica and Garren."

"Who's Angelica? I didn't fight with any girls." Natsu was starting to worry that the job wasn't over just yet.

"If you defeated Gareen and she didn't do anything then don't worry about her; she's Garren's girlfriend. She uses plant magic but she hasn't had very much training so she is fairly weak."

"She must have stayed inside the Guild. I have a feeling that this won't be the last time we deal with them but I'm not worried until that time."

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes until Lucy decided to break the ice.

"I think I'll be able to make it home tomorrow."

"Are you sure? We can wait for a few days just in case." Natsu knew that Lucy needed at least another day of rest but stubborn could be her middle name

"No, I'm sure; we will leave tomorrow."

"Can I sleep here tonight and go to Fairy Tail with you all tomorrow?" Cecyla looked down while she asked the question to try and hide the desperation in her eyes.

"Sure, you can stay with me tonight and keep me company." Lucy was almost excited to have some girl time even if it was with a girl she barely knew. Sure, she loved spending time with Natsu and Happy but she needed a break every once and a while.

"Thank you so much. Before I forget, here is the rewards for the job." Cecyla walked over to a small bag that she had sitting on the floor and took out three drawstring sacks and gave one sack to each of them.

Natsu and Happy went to their room for the night and Cecyla made herself at home in the large chair near Lucy's bed.

The next morning Lucy was indeed feeling better so they headed home. Everything was going fine until the train. Natsu was sitting as close as he could to the window which he had cracked in attempt to let in fresh air. He tried laying on his back and even curling up into a ball but nothing could calm his motion sickness. If Erza were there she would have knocked him out already. An hour had passed and three more with Natsu groaning and almost hurling all over the place was more than Lucy could handle.

"Natsu, come here." When he didn't respond, Lucy pulled him over to her and made him lay down.

"Lu-uce, what are you doing," Natsu said slowly while trying not to vomit.

"Just be quiet and lay down." After a few minutes, she slowly started to run her fingers through his rose colored hair. In no time, Natsu's groans of discomfort lessened and he drifted off to sleep.

Cecyla looked up from the copy of Sorcerers Weekly she had borrowed from Lucy and stared at the pair in front of her. _She can deny it all she wants but she's falling in love with him. _For the rest of the ride to Magnolia Natsu slept on Lucy's lap and no one said a word, even Happy kept his comments to himself.


End file.
